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$50,000 goal to win matching grant through MEDC’s Public Spaces Community Places initiative

$30,000 goal to win matching grant through MEDC’s Public Spaces Community Places initiative

LANSING, Mich.– Battle Creek will create a safe space for dogs and their owners to gather and spend time together in an off-leash setting in an under-utilized portion of Bailey Park through a newcrowdfunding campaign,the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Battle Creek Community Foundation and the Friends of Calhoun County Dog Parks announced today. The campaign is being offered through Michigan-based crowdfunding platform Patronicity.

If the campaign reaches its crowdfunding goal of $30,000 by May 13, 2019, the project will win a matching grant with funds made possible by MEDC’s Public Spaces Community Places program. For project details and to donate, please visit:patronicity.com/bcdogpark.

“There is a growing demand for safe spaces for people and dogs to interact across many communities,” said MEDC Senior Vice President of Community Development Katharine Czarnecki. “This project will create such a space for the Calhoun County region. We are pleased to provide resources for this effort through our Public Spaces Community Places program.”

The campaign will complete the transformation of a large vacant space in Bailey Park into a beautiful, well-maintained space for humans and canines to enjoy. Many neighboring communities have wonderful dog parks which are a considerable drive for Battle Creek residents. As a result, a group of local citizens has created the Friends of Calhoun County Dog Parks to work with the city and county to raise funds to create dog parks throughout the county, the first of which will be at Bailey Park.

“Without the matching funds provided by the Public Spaces Community Places grant program, Battle Creek would not have the opportunity to see completion of a dog park in 2019,” said Deb Fryar, president of Friends of Calhoun County Dog Parks. “We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in this program and for the support of our community partners: Battle Creek Parks and Recreation, and the Battle Creek Community Foundation’s Encourage BC Program.”

Public Spaces Community Placesis a collaborative effort of the MEDC, the Michigan Municipal League, and Patronicity, in which local residents can use crowdfunding to be part of the development of strategic projects in their communities and be backed with a matching grant from MEDC. Communities, nonprofits and other business entities can apply athttps://patronicity.com/puremichigan.

The Public Spaces Community Places initiative started in 2014 with MEDC providing matched funding of up to $50,000 for community improvement projects throughout Michigan. As of December 31, 2018, MEDC has provided$5,844,441 in matching grants. Since the launch of the program, 189 projects have been successful in reaching their goal, with $6.8 million raised from 35,715 individual donors.

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About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visitwww.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook,Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

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